"Jill's our guest relations manager," Rosie said, gesturing for Olivia to follow her. Grasping her suitcase handle, Olivia obeyed, and Rosie led her out of the terminal to a golf cart parked outside and helped her hoist her case into the back.
"We'd go on the bus with the others, but it's full. We've got a lot coming in off this flight." Rosie hopped into the driver's seat. "So I borrowed this off a friend at the marina."
"Is that far from here?" Olivia hung onto the side of the golf cart as Rosie mashed the accelerator pedal flat to the floor and they took off at a surprisingly high speed.
"Not at all! Only a couple of minutes!" Rosie zoomed past another golf cart, narrowly missing an oncoming minibus. Olivia gave up and shut her eyes.
"Oh come on, you're used to New York traffic. My driving can't terrify you that much!" Rosie snickered.
"You'd make a very good cab driver," Olivia agreed, cracking an eye open as they slowed. Seeing boat masts in front of them, she relaxed, realizing they must be at the marina. "Which is all I ever took in New York. Generally, the subway is much faster anyway, so I mostly rode that."
"I think I'll take that as a backhanded compliment," Rosie snickered. "Well, you can drive next time, if I'm scaring you that much. Jill never lets me drive…."
"I can see why, but I don't have a lot of choice. I've never learned to drive."
"Really?" Rosie looked startled at that before casting her a cheeky grin. "Well. Technically you don't need a license to drive one of the resort golf carts. I won't tell if you don't."
Olivia had to laugh at that, getting out of the cart. "Is this the boat?" She looked at the catamaran yacht they'd parked behind.
"No, no. This belongs to my friend. Thanks, Matt!" Rosie yelled at the boat before heading around to the back of the cart to heft Olivia's suitcase out again. "We're just going along there."
"Oh." Olivia felt quite foolish. Lovely though the catamaran was, and obviously valuable, it looked minuscule compared to the magnificent motor-yacht at which Rosie had just pointed. "Wow."
"The resort has three of those; we use them for airport transfer, inter-island transfer, and our own dive-and-snorkeling tours," Rosie informed her. "They're brand-new. The new owners bought them after they finished the refurbishment last year."
"Impressive," Olivia said, taking in the boat as they walked closer. "Several million dollars, I'd say."
"No expense spared," Rosie agreed with a nod. "Everything on Sunfish Island is like that. You'll see. But the island was run-down for quite a few years before the new owners bought it and spent a fortune to do it up."
"Which is why you need me." Olivia nodded. She specialized in relaunching refurbished hotels. She'd originally applied for the job assuming she'd be based in New York, but the resort owners insisted she needed to be on-site. They'd hired her on a full-year contract and paid all travel expenses, and accommodation was included. It was the job of a lifetime.
"That's right." Rosie nodded. "Hey! Cory! Get down here and help carry Olivia's suitcase!"
"God, you're so bossy," a deep voice rumbled with a laugh, and Olivia looked up to see a tall figure silhouetted against the sun, standing on the boat's upper deck. She blinked, dazzled by the glare behind him.
"This is Cory Gillette, our activities manager," Rosie said as the man vaulted over the rail. He landed on the lower deck in front of them before walking down the short ramp separating the boat from the dock. "Cory, Olivia Stratten, our new marketing guru."
"Nice ta meetcha," he rumbled before bending and picking up her suitcase as though it weighed nothing.
Olivia could only stare speechlessly as Cory turned and walked back onto the boat. He looked as though he'd just stepped off an advertising billboard; tall, blond, and blue-eyed, he had a deep bronze tan and shoulders so broad they strained the seams of his polo shirt. Her gaze slid down his back involuntarily as he walked back up the ramp with her suitcase.
Cory's ass in tight khaki shorts was so spectacular she barely heard Rosie's "Come on, let's get aboard before the guests arrive."
"Ngh," Olivia said somewhat incoherently, still staring, but Rosie promptly cut off her view as she headed up the ramp in front of Olivia. Still thoroughly distracted and trying to peer around Rosie to get another look at that incredible back view, she followed Rosie up the ramp without watching her footing.
Which turned out to be an epically huge mistake.
The ramp was made of a pierced steel grating, and with Olivia's first full step onto it, her spiked high heel went straight through and jammed. Thrown completely off balance, she teetered, clutched for a nonexistent handrail, lost her balance completely, and toppled head-first into the murky waters of the harbor. The last thing she heard before the surprisingly warm waters of the harbor closed over her head was Rosie's shriek of horror.
She might never have learned to drive, but she had certainly learned to swim. After a brief panicky flail, she righted herself and kicked back up to the surface, clamping her lips tight and holding her breath. Her head broke the surface and she heard....
Not more shrieks of horror, but a deep guffaw of laughter.
Cory was leaning off the boat, extending a tanned hand in her direction, and absolutely laughing his ass off.
Cheeks flaming, utterly humiliated, Olivia accepted the offered hand. It wasn't as though she had much choice, after all. As far as she could see, she had no other way to get up to the boat.
Despite his chortles, Cory pulled her up as easily as he'd carried her suitcase, his other hand hooking around her waist when he’d raised her high enough to lift her aboard and set her on her feet. Her bare feet.
"I think this is yours," he said through his laughter, bending down to pull her shoe out of the ramp and offer it to her.
"Those were Jimmy Choos," Olivia said pathetically, accepting the shoe from his hand even as she mourned the loss of the other one, now no doubt sinking in the silt at the bottom of the harbor.
Cody laughed so hard he had to sit down on the deck.
"You're such an asshole," Rosie was at least trying to suppress her giggles, and making a fair job of it, as she dealt a slap to the back of Cody's head. "Are you alright, Olivia?"
She blew out her cheeks, looking down at her ruined five-hundred-dollar pantsuit, the single shoe nestled in her hand. And then she blinked. "Oh my God. My bag!"
"You had a bag... your laptop bag!" Rosie stared at her in horror.
They both peered down into the murky water.
"How deep is it?" Olivia asked.
"About eight feet." Cory finally managed to suppress his laughter. "And no, I am not diving down to look for it."
Olivia shot him a fulminating glare. "Don't put yourself out. I'll get it myself." Handing Rosie her shoe, stripping off her soaked suit jacket and tossing it aside, she dived neatly off the edge of the boat.
CHAPTER 2
" Now that I didn't expect," Cory admitted, peering down after her. "D'you think I should go in?"
"I think she wouldn't have dived in if she wasn't quite confident she could do it," Rosie said thoughtfully. "And frankly I think you'd be better served here to pull her out again when she comes back up."
Cory started counting under his breath, though, deciding that if Olivia hadn't surfaced after sixty seconds, he was going in after her. He'd reached fifty-four when her head broke the surface again.
"Did you get it?" Rosie called. Gasping for breath, Olivia nodded, holding the strap up in triumph. Rosie grabbed the bag while Cory hauled Olivia out again.
"There was no need for that," he chided. "Seriously, all your electronics will be wrecked already."
"I know that." She cast him a scornful look. "All my data is backed up to the cloud anyway. I just didn't want to lose my passport. It'd be an absolute pain to get a new one." Taking the bag from Rosie, she opened the front flap and pulled out a small, flat purse that contained her passport, credit cards, and some Australian cash. The money was plastic and would be perfe
ctly usable once it dried out; the passport she was a little more concerned about, but it was worth trying to dry it out. The stamps and work visa were still readable, at least.
"Well, at least it'll be easier to get a replacement for a wrecked one than replace a lost one," Rosie said positively, and Olivia cast her a grateful look. "Plus, you've got about a thousand dollars there! I'd have dived into the harbor for that alone."
"Tell me you didn't drop your bag into the harbor and dive in after it," a laughing voice said behind them, and Olivia turned to see that Jill and her busload of guests had arrived.
"Nah, she got one of her snazzy heels caught in the ramp and took a header," Cory said, and it was more than evident that Jill wanted to fall about laughing as she pressed her lips together, eyes glinting with mirth. Instead, she shook her head and turned back to escorting the guests aboard. They all got a guiding hand from Jill or the man who'd arrived with her, Olivia noticed a bit jealously. Letting a paying guest fall in the harbor would be bad for business, after all.
A light tug at her wrist made her turn back to Rosie. "It's a half-hour trip to the island. You'll be way more comfortable in dry clothes." Rosie pointed at her suitcase. "There's only a tiny bathroom, but at least you can change."
Grateful for the suggestion, Olivia nodded. She and Rosie retreated to the rear corner of the boat's main cabin while Cory and the other man pulled in the ramp and cast off the lines. Someone else must be upstairs driving the boat, Olivia surmised as huge engines started up and they slid away from the dock.
Another reason to be glad she'd decided to retrieve her bag, Olivia thought as she dug out the key for her luggage lock and opened her suitcase. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that absolutely everything she’d brought with her was far too glamorous. Though this was a five-star, premium resort, even the guests were more casually dressed than the most casual outfit she owned.
"Wow," Rosie breathed in astonishment, staring into the case as Olivia took a couple of things off the top layer and set them aside. "You have really nice clothes."
"Nobody in New York takes you seriously if you're not wearing a designer label," Olivia said with perfect honesty. "I feel like I'm going to be very overdressed, though." She looked at Rosie's cotton shorts, tank top, and rubber flip-flops. "I don't even own a pair of shoes without high heels."
That made Rosie laugh. "You'll be better off barefoot! Almost all the paths on the island are sand; you'd sink in." Lightly fingering the hem of a silk Mossimo dress, she said tentatively, "I have several spare pairs of thongs, and lots of casual gear. We're about the same size. You're welcome to borrow anything you like... if I could maybe borrow one of these gorgeous dresses to wear to the staff Christmas party?"
The Mossimo dress probably cost more than Rosie's entire wardrobe, Olivia knew, but the friendly overture was too kind to ignore. "You're on. But what are thongs? Because I don't think you mean what I understand by thongs...."
Rosie laughed and explained that thongs was Australian for flip-flops, as Olivia picked out the least dressy thing she could find, a Roberto Cavalli printed jersey dress. At least she had one pair of heels that weren't stilettos, she thought with relief as she dug out her favorite cream linen wedges. Thank you, Kate Middleton, for making these a fashion statement.
There was nothing really to be done for her hair; she looked like a drowned rat and there were only paper towels to be found in the tiny bathroom. She washed her face and twisted her hair up into a wet knot atop her head; that would have to do. The light was too poor—and she had too little time—to do a lot about her makeup, but at least she could get rid of the raccoon-like circles under her eyes from her running eyeliner.
"Wow," Rosie breathed as Olivia returned a few minutes later. "How did you do that? You look like a million bucks again!"
Olivia smiled, warmed by the other girl's open friendliness and kind words. "Thanks, Rosie. I was feeling a bit like the Swamp Thing."
"Maybe the Creature from The Black Lagoon?" Cody sniped as he walked past. Rosie whacked at his legs, and he evaded her hand with a laugh. Olivia glared at his retreating back. The guy might be gorgeous, but what an asshole!
"Don't mind Cody, he's a total troll," Rosie said, rolling her eyes.
"I think you're being insulting to trolls," Olivia quipped back, and they laughed. Despite the disaster of her unplanned dip in the harbor, Olivia relaxed. At least she'd have one friend at Sunfish Island Resort, she thought as Rosie leaned across her to point out the window and tell her that they were just about to round the southern tip of the island.
* * *
ROSIE HELD Olivia back until the guests had all disembarked. The other man took her suitcase with a friendly grin.
"Tell the porter to take it to 6B, please, Jack," Rosie told him.
"Sure thing." He gave Rosie a casual salute. "And welcome to Sunfish, Olivia."
At least everyone was very friendly, Olivia mused as she followed Rosie, who trailed after the last of the guests. Cory stood by the ramp, offering his hand to her in an exaggerated gesture, his blue eyes glinting with mirth.
She debated giving him a shove into the water. It was a very, very tempting thought... and it was also petty and beneath her. She swallowed the impulse and took his hand, letting him steady her as she crossed the ramp.
"Thanks," she muttered grudgingly.
"You're welcome. And... I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you before."
Startled, her gaze flew up to meet his. He looked quite sincere, and his hand was warm and strong as he held on to her for just a moment longer than necessary.
"Olivia Stratten," a voice said, thankfully obviating her need to think of something to say to Cory's unexpected remark. She let go of his hand and turned to see a handsome man in what she guessed was his early forties and actually wearing a business suit, albeit with an open-necked shirt and no tie. "It's good to meet you. I'm Luke Collyer, the resort general manager." He took in her dripping hair with a curious glance but said nothing about it as he offered his hand for a friendly shake.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Collyer." They'd communicated by email after the resort owners had hired her, and his ideas and incisive manner had impressed Olivia.
"Luke, please. We're not formal here at Sunfish."
She smiled in acknowledgment, following him along the shaded dock and into the hotel's main lobby.
"Wow." Olivia's head tipped up. The atrium was amazing, five stories high with a domed glass roof, and live palm trees growing in gigantic stone pots. Water trickled from stunning fountains and ran underneath shining plate-glass panels in the floor. There were fish in there, she realized, as one swam directly under her foot. It was hard to know where to put her eyes at any given moment.
"Pretty swish, huh?" Luke gave her a knowing smile. "It's very different to how it looked ten years ago, I can tell you. I was working here as assistant hotel manager at the time."
Most of the photographs available online had been of the old resort, so Olivia knew what he meant. She shook her head in wonderment.
"The owners really did spare no expense."
"This whole building is new." Luke gestured upward at the glass dome. "That even has cyclone shutters that can be closed over it. While we're required to evacuate all guests in the event of an oncoming cyclone because the island may be inundated during a storm surge, the upper floors of this building would actually be quite safe even under the most severe conditions."
"Impressive," Olivia said with a nod, wincing as a trickle of cool water ran down her neck from her soaked hair. Luke tilted his head at her curiously.
"Excuse me for asking, but why is your hair wet?"
She sighed and gave him a rueful smile. "I may as well ‘fess up; I'm sure it'll be all over the resort within the hour. I fell off the ramp when boarding the boat."
"You what?" Luke looked startled.
"Entirely my own fault, I'm afraid. I was wearing spike heels and not looking where I wa
s going." Luke was clearly making an effort to hold back his laughter. Olivia smiled at him cheekily. "Go on, you might as well laugh. I've seen the funny side now, anyway."
He permitted himself a few chortles before shaking his head. "I wish I'd seen it, though I'm sure you're glad I didn't. Well. I was going to ask if you wanted the full tour, but all things considered, I think maybe we'll postpone it to tomorrow morning and let you get settled in today instead. I've got meetings this afternoon, I'm afraid."
She smiled at him gratefully. "I admit I'm eager to get to work... but I'm even more eager to have a proper shower and wash the ocean out of my hair."
"Then let's make that happen." Luke turned to the left and swiped an access card through a slot beside a door marked STAFF ONLY. A short passageway led them outside and down a narrow path between high hedges. "This leads to the senior staff accommodation," he told her. "The cabins were actually part of the old resort; the owners decided to leave them for staff use when they built the new ones. You're in number six, which is a two-bedroom. You're sharing it with Suzannah, our executive chef; she's very nice but you probably won't see a lot of her. She's a workaholic."
Olivia nodded, looking with pleasure at the rustic timber cabins, set on low stumps, as they came upon then. Each had a small covered veranda at the front with a couple of comfortable-looking sun loungers; a brass number was screwed to the front railing on every cabin. It wasn't long before they arrived at number six, and Luke fished in a pocket to pull out a key and an access card, both of which he handed to her.
"The card gets you into all the staff areas of the resort. These cabins don't have electronic access like the newer ones, so you'll need to hang on to the key. It fits both doors to your room: the one that exits onto the veranda and the one into the living area of the cabin. Don't forget to lock both, and don't leave valuables lying around in the common area, because it's not secured; anyone can walk in."
Olivia nodded in understanding as Luke turned the door handle and opened the main cabin door. "This is lovely," she said in pleased surprise, looking around the simply furnished room. It had a tiny kitchenette at the other end, a large squashy couch facing a decent-sized flat-screen TV, and a small dining table with four chairs. The floor was tiled, and everything was immaculately clean.
Tropical Tryst: 25 All New and Exclusive Sexy Reads Page 65